Summit Therapeutics plc Summit Therapeutics Recognises Tenth Annual Rare Disease Day
28 February 2017 - 11:00PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMSUMM
Summit Therapeutics plc
('Summit' or 'the Company')
SUMMIT THERAPEUTICS RECOGNISES 10(TH) ANNUAL RARE DISEASE DAY
Oxford, UK, 28 February 2017 - Summit Therapeutics plc (NASDAQ: SMMT,
AIM: SUMM), the drug discovery and development company advancing
therapies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy ('DMD') and Clostridium
difficile infection, recognises the tenth annual Rare Disease Day taking
place today, 28 February 2017. The Rare Disease Day 2017 theme, 'with
research, possibilities are limitless,' emphasises the importance of
scientific research in helping to understand, diagnose and treat rare
diseases that affect millions of people and their families worldwide.
Summit seeks to remain at the forefront of utrophin modulation research
through its strategic alliance with the University of Oxford, under the
guidance of Professor Kay Davies. The collaboration is focussed on
developing future-generation utrophin modulators for the potential
treatment of all patients with the progressive muscle wasting disorder,
DMD. To date, the research team has identified two series of novel
utrophin modulators, one of which has a mechanism of action potentially
distinct from ezutromid, the Company's lead utrophin modulator that is
in a Phase 2 clinical trial in DMD patients.
"In our quest to bring a potentially disease-modifying treatment to all
patients with DMD, we have collaborated with the preeminent expert in
utrophin modulation biology, Professor Kay Davies, and her research team
at the University of Oxford," said Glyn Edwards, Chief Executive Officer
of Summit. "We applaud EURORDIS, the organisation representing rare
disease patients in Europe, for bringing an annual spotlight to the
plight of millions of people affected by rare diseases and in this year,
recognising the immense impact that research is having and will continue
to have for those living with rare diseases."
In the European Union a rare disease is defined as one that affects
fewer than 5 in 10,000 of the general population, while in the United
States, it is defined as a disease that affects fewer than 200,000
people. There are between 6,000 and 8,000 known rare diseases with
around five new rare diseases described in the literature each week.
Rare diseases are often chronic and life threatening and include rare
conditions, such as childhood cancers, and some other well-known
conditions including cystic fibrosis and DMD.
Rare Disease Day takes place on the last day of February each year, and
its objective is to raise awareness among the general public and
decision-makers about rare diseases and their impact on patients' lives.
Rare Disease Day was launched in Europe in 2008 by EURORDIS. It is now
observed in more than 80 nations, and is sponsored in the US by the
National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD). For more information,
please visit www.rarediseaseday.org.
About Utrophin Modulation in DMD
DMD is a progressive muscle wasting disease that affects around 50,000
boys and young men in the developed world. The disease is caused by
different genetic faults in the gene that encodes dystrophin, a protein
that is essential for the healthy function of all muscles. There is
currently no cure for DMD and life expectancy is into the late twenties.
Utrophin protein is functionally and structurally similar to dystrophin.
In preclinical studies, the continued expression of utrophin has a
meaningful, positive effect on muscle performance. Summit believes that
utrophin modulation has the potential to slow down or even stop the
progression of DMD, regardless of the underlying dystrophin gene
mutation. Summit also believes that utrophin modulation could
potentially be complementary to other therapeutic approaches for DMD.
The Company's lead utrophin modulator, ezutromid, is an orally
administered, small molecule. DMD is an orphan disease, and the US Food
and Drug Administration ('FDA') and the European Medicines Agency have
granted orphan drug status to ezutromid. Orphan drugs receive a number
of benefits including additional regulatory support and a period of
market exclusivity following approval. In addition, ezutromid has been
granted Fast Track designation and Rare Pediatric Disease designation by
the FDA.
About Summit Therapeutics
Summit is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery,
development and commercialisation of novel medicines for indications for
which there are no existing or only inadequate therapies. Summit is
conducting clinical programs focused on the genetic disease Duchenne
muscular dystrophy and the infectious disease C. difficile infection.
Further information is available at www.summitplc.com and Summit can be
followed on Twitter (@summitplc).
For more information, please contact:
Summit
Glyn Edwards / Richard Pye (UK office) Tel: +44 (0)1235 443 951
Erik Ostrowski / Michelle Avery (US office) +1 617 225 4455
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP
(Nominated Adviser) Tel: +44 (0)20 7213 0880
Liam Murray / Tony Rawlinson
N+1 Singer
(Broker) Tel: +44 (0)20 7496 3000
Aubrey Powell / Lauren Kettle
MacDougall Biomedical Communications
(US media contact) Tel: +1 781 235 3060
Chris Erdman / Karen Sharma cerdman@macbiocom.com
ksharma@macbiocom.com
Consilium Strategic Communications Tel: +44 (0)20 3709 5700
(Financial public relations, UK) summit@consilium-comms.com
Mary-Jane Elliott / Sue Stuart /
Jessica Hodgson / Lindsey Neville
Forward-looking Statements
Any statements in this press release about Summit's future expectations,
plans and prospects, including but not limited to, statements about the
clinical and preclinical development of Summit's product candidates, the
therapeutic potential of Summit's product candidates, and the timing of
initiation, completion and availability of data from clinical trials,
and other statements containing the words "anticipate," "believe,"
"continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan,"
"potential," "predict," "project," "should," "target," "would," and
similar expressions, constitute forward looking statements within the
meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual
results may differ materially from those indicated by such
forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors,
including: the uncertainties inherent in the initiation of future
clinical trials, availability and timing of data from on-going and
future clinical trials and the results of such trials, whether
preliminary results from a clinical trial will be predictive of the
final results of that trial or whether results of early clinical trials
or preclinical studies will be indicative of the results of later
clinical trials, expectations for regulatory approvals, availability of
funding sufficient for Summit's foreseeable and unforeseeable operating
expenses and capital expenditure requirements and other factors
discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of filings that Summit makes
with the Securities and Exchange Commission including Summit's Annual
Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2016.
Accordingly readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking
statements or information. In addition, any forward looking statements
included in this press release represent Summit's views only as of the
date of this release and should not be relied upon as representing
Summit's views as of any subsequent date. Summit specifically disclaims
any obligation to update any forward-looking statements included in this
press release.
-END-
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The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely
responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information
contained therein.
Source: Summit Therapeutics plc via Globenewswire
http://www.summitplc.com/
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 28, 2017 07:00 ET (12:00 GMT)
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